We all heard stories of bullying at the workplace. Thus, in this Expert Insight Interview, Dr. Phyllis Quinlan discusses her new book Bringing Shadow Behavior Into the Light of Day: Understanding and Effectively Managing Bullying and Incivility in Healthcare. Dr. Phyllis Quinlan is a Founder and President of an MFW Consulting firm, RN executive coach, and personal development coach.
The interview discusses:
- Narcissism with a license
- Inclusive Leadership
- Emotional Intelligence
- Removing bullying from the organization
A Narcissist with a License
There is always some senior leader described as “not the easiest person to deal with, but you can learn a lot from him/her.” We usually have such a high level of respect for senior health professionals that we tend to excuse their disruptive behavior. Thus, we mentally prepare to be abused, and we justify it with learning. But in reality, they are just narcissists with a license. Around 10 to 15 percent of the staff members in healthcare indulge in chronic uncivil behavior, and about three to five percent engage in narcissistic bullying.
Inclusive Leadership
The staff today is, if not experimentally than at least academically, equally prepared as leadership. Thus, leaders should be more inclusive, engaged, and focused on creating new leaders and not followers. The perception that leaders know it all is not sustainable anymore. The job market is becoming so specialized that every occupation requires a team of people with different skills and expertise. We need to build relationships and appreciate everyone’s impact on the team, regardless of their license or job title. In order to achieve this level of teamwork, the workplace has to have a healthy work environment.
Emotional Intelligence
The secret to creating a safe and engaging system for patients and caregivers is in developing emotional intelligence. Firstly, caregivers will be able to connect more authentically with their patients. And secondly, emotional intelligence represents the foundation for building resilience and lowering the risk of caregiver burnouts.
Regarding patient care, there are patent satisfaction scores in which patients comment on whether they are satisfied with the service. These patient scores reflect not only one particular caregiver but the whole team. People nowadays have a lot of choices. Thus, both patients and employees have the opportunity to go somewhere else if they feel disrespected.
Find out more about the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage plans vs Original Medicare.
Bullying Gotta Go
People who engage in bullying at the workplace are usually highly skilled, and the organization relies on their expertise. Thus, they feel free to push the limits with their disruptive behavior, but no one has the right to undermine other team members and contribute to an unhealthy work atmosphere. However, a leader should always collaborate with HR and administrative teams and never confront a bully alone. The organization should take the necessary actions to make a bully exit the organization.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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